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2018 Atlantic hurricane season (Farm - Future Series)
The '2018 Atlantic hurricane season '''was a slightly below average season in terms of named storms, and in terms of both hurricanes and major hurricanes. It produced fourteen tropical cyclones, twelve named storms, the fewest since the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season, five hurricanes and two major hurricanes. It officially began on June 1, 2018, and ended on November 30, 2018. These dates historically describe the period each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. The first storm of the season, Alberto, developed on July 12, while the final storm, Kirk, dissipated on November 16, prior to the end of the season. Due to a weak El Nino that developed in late 2017, activity was slightly below average, but was able to produce destructive storms. In August, Hurricane Beryl brought heavy rains to Texas. Hurricane Chris brushed Lesser Antilles and later brought heavy winds to the East Coast. Season summary ImageSize = width:700 height:215 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:20 left:20 Legend = columns:3 left:30 top:58 columnwidth:270 AlignBars = early DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/06/2016 till:01/12/2016 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMinor = grid:black unit:month increment:1 start:01/06/2016 Colors = id:canvas value:gray(0.88) id:GP value:red id:TD value:rgb(0.38,0.73,1) legend:Tropical_Depression_=_≤39_mph_(≤62_km/h) id:TS value:rgb(0,0.98,0.96) legend:Tropical_Storm_=_39–73_mph_(63–117_km/h) id:C1 value:rgb(1,1,0.80) legend:Category_1_=_74–95_mph_(118–153_km/h) id:C2 value:rgb(1,0.91,0.46) legend:Category_2_=_96–110_mph_(154–177_km/h) id:C3 value:rgb(1,0.76,0.25) legend:Category_3_=_111–129_mph_(178–208_km/h) id:C4 value:rgb(1,0.56,0.13) legend:Category_4_=_130–156_mph_(209–251_km/h) id:C5 value:rgb(1,0.38,0.38) legend:Category_5_=_≥157_mph_(≥252_km/h) Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas BarData = barset:Hurricane bar:Month PlotData= barset:Hurricane width:10 align:left fontsize:S shift:(4,-4) anchor:till from:04/06/2016 till:06/06/2016 color:TD text:"One (TD)" from:12/07/2016 till:18/07/2016 color:TS text:"Alberto (TS)" from:03/08/2016 till:10/08/2016 color:C2 text:"Beryl (C2)" from:15/08/2016 till:28/08/2016 color:C4 text:"Chris (C4)" from:03/09/2016 till:07/09/2016 color:TS text:"Debby (TS)" from:07/09/2016 till:14/09/2016 color:C1 text:"Ernesto (C1)" from:11/09/2016 till:17/09/2016 color:C1 text:"Florence (C1)" barset:break from:17/09/2016 till:23/09/2016 color:TS text:"Gordon (TS)" from:23/09/2016 till:24/09/2016 color:TD text:"Nine (TD)" from:02/10/2016 till:05/10/2016 color:TS text:"Helene (TS)" from:13/10/2016 till:22/10/2016 color:C4 text:"Isaac (C4)" from:21/10/2016 till:25/10/2016 color:TS text:"Joyce (TS)" from:03/11/2016 till:06/11/2016 color:TS text:"Unnamed (SS)" from:12/11/2016 till:16/11/2016 color:TS text:"Kirk (TS)" bar:Month width:5 align:center fontsize:S shift:(0,-20) anchor:middle color:canvas from:01/06/2016 till:01/07/2016 text:June from:01/07/2016 till:01/08/2016 text:July from:01/08/2016 till:01/09/2016 text:August from:01/09/2016 till:01/10/2016 text:September from:01/10/2016 till:01/11/2016 text:October from:01/11/2016 till:01/12/2016 text:November TextData = pos:(550,30) text:"(From the" pos:(598,30) text:"Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale)" The season started on June 1, 2018, and officially ended on November 30, 2018. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. A month into the start of the season, Tropical Storm Alberto developed in the Caribbean Sea, and after five months of activity, Tropical Storm Kirk dissipated on November 16. Compared to the devastating 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, 2018 is quite destructive, though not as active as previous year. Four storms made landfall in the United States. The first of them, Tropical Storm Alberto, made landfall in Louisiana with winds of 45 mph (75 km/h), causing flooding and light damage. Hurricane Beryl made landfall in Texas, impact quite severe. The third and more significant storm was Hurricane Chris, made landfall as a strong hurricane, causing $37 billion in damage (2018 USD), and the final hurricane, Hurricane Isaac, the strongest and most destructive of the season, caused $150 billion in damage (2018 USD). Systems Tropical Depression One A tropical wave emerged off the western coast of Africa on June 2. Moving westward, a small area of low pressure developed in association with the wave few days later. Convection steadily increased and organized, leading to the formation of Tropical Depression One by June 4. The depression failed to intensify into a tropical storm due to an exceptionally dry and stable environment and instead degenerated into a remant low by June 6 while located northeast of the Lesser Antilles. Tropical Storm Alberto A trough developed on northern Caribbean Sea on July 12 and quickly developed into a tropical depression northeast of the Honduras several hours later. The depression moved northwestward and intensified into Tropical Storm Alberto on July 12. However, northerly wind shear initially halted any further significant intensification. Alberto peaked with winds of 45 mph (75 km/h) on July 15. Shortly thereafter, the storm made landfall near New Orleans, Louisiana. Alberto quickly weakened and was downgraded to tropical depression on July 17, six hours before turning extratropical. Alberto caused generally light damages, mostly in Louisiana, where rip currents killed 3 people. The storm also triggered evacuations and class suspensions across the state. Alberto also killed another one near Mississippi, due to drowning. Alberto caused $12 million (2018 USD) and 4 fatalities. Hurricane Beryl ''Main Article: Hurricane Beryl (2018) A strong tropical wave tracked across the Caribbean Sea in late July. It failed to develop a low-level circulation until August 3. That day, reconnaissance aircraft found a low-level circulation and the system was declared Tropical Storm Beryl. It strengthened early on August 5 as a weak and disorganized tropical storm near Cancun, and emerged over the Gulf of Mexico and strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane later that morning. On August 3, it strengthened into the first hurricane of the season. It steadily strengthened that day into the morning of August 6 and reached Category 2 intensity. Beryl then peaked at 105 mph (165 kph) before it made landfall at on Texas as a Category 2 hurricane. Beryl caused 12 deaths in Texas due to flash flooding, and it become the most damaging hurricane to affect Texas since last year's Hurricane Harvey, with US$4 billion in damage. The remnant low caused five deaths in New Mexico before dissipating late on August 10. Hurricane Chris Main Article: Hurricane Chris (2018) A vigorous tropical wave entered the Atlantic on August 14, developing into a tropical depression off the western coast of Africa a day later at 10:00 UTC. The nascent depression steadily intensified as it moved west-northwest, becoming Tropical Storm Chris ten hours after formation and further strengthening into a hurricane by 06:00 UTC on August 18. A weakness in the steering ridge, caused Chris to miss the northern Leeward Islands as it strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane on August 22. Intensification was slowed down as the cyclone underwent an eyewall replacement cycle, but Chris ultimately attained peak winds of 145 mph (230 km/h) by 12:00 UTC the next day. Increased shear and a second replacement cycle caused the hurricane to slowly weaken. It made landfall near Georgia on August 26 causing it to rapidly weaken. Chris transitioned into an extratropical cyclone twelve hours later. The extratropical low merged with another system the next day. Chris mostly caused heavy damages across the Greater Antilles, with most notably is in Leewards, where it killed five and caused $2 billion (2018 USD). Inpact on other islands are also high. Chris caused most of the impact in Mid-Atlantic states. It caused heavy surge and flooding in the states of Georgia and South Carolina. Chris mostly flooded almost 100,000 homes and damaged most of these. Chris caused a total of $37 billion (2018 USD) and 112 deaths. Tropical Storm Debby A westward-moving tropical wave developed into Tropical Storm Debby late on September 3. Though conditions were initially favorable, the storm did not strengthen further. On September 5, Debby encountered low wind shear , causing the storm to strengthen and reached it peak intensity of 65 mph (100 km/h). Contrary to predictions of moving northward, the cyclone persisted on a westerly course and passed through the Lesser Antilles on September 6. Unfavorable conditions in the Caribbean Sea further weakened Debby into a depression. It then dissipated south of Hispaniola. Hurricane Ernesto Main Article: Hurricane Ernesto (2018) A tropical wave spawned an area of low pressure in the Caribbean Sea early on September 6. Several hours later, it strengthened into a tropical depression. Initially, the depression moved slowly. Around midday on September 8, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Ernesto. After initially moving westward toward Veracruz, the storm made a loop. Favorable conditions allowed it to attain hurricane status on September 10, and the next day Ernesto attained peak winds of 85 mph (140 km/h). Subsequently, high wind shear weakened the storm's convection. Caught between a trough over eastern Mexico and a ridge over the Southeastern United States, the storm turned northwestward. On September 15, Ernesto made landfall near Brownsville, Texas as a tropical storm. Early on September 16, the storm weakened to a tropical depression, shortly before dissipating. Ernesto caused moderate damages across the Mexico, notably near Veracruz. It caused mostly landslides and flooding, causing $700 million (2018 USD) and 12 deaths. Ernesto also caused rainshowers in Texas, Yucatan, Louisiana and New Mexico. Hurricane Florence Hurricane Florence formed as a tropical wave on September 11 and meandered westward where it reached hurricane status on September 14. The storm attained peak winds of 90 mph (150 km/h) before turning southwestward and weakening back into a tropical storm. Florence dissipated as a tropical cyclone on September 17 north of the Leewards. Florence caused no impact, but it's remannts remained and crossed the Caribbean Sea, which brought rainfall across the area before completely dissipating. It would eventually regenerate into Tropical Depression Nine which would hit Mexico. Tropical Storm Gordon A tropical wave emerged into the Atlantic from the west coast of Africa on September 16. The system produced disorganized convection for a few days while it moved westward across the eastern tropical Atlantic. Late on September 17, a well-defined surface low developed in association with the tropical wave, though the associated deep convection was not sufficiently organized. However, by few days, the system organized enough to be designated Tropical Storm Gordon, while located north of Cape Verde. Later that day, Gordon peaked with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 998 mbar. The system weakened to a tropical depression. An environment of dry air, coupled with an increase of southwesterly vertical shear induced primarily by an upper-level low to the northwest of Gordon, continued to adversely affect the storm. Gordon degenerated into a remnant low pressure after executing a loop on September 23 and dissipated shortly thereafter. Tropical Depression Nine The ninth tropical depression of the season originated from a tropical wave that crossed the western coast of Africa on September 18. Tracking westward, the wave reached the Caribbean Sea and became increasingly ill-defined while in the central Caribbean. An increase in convection was observed on September 21 and the subsequent day as the wave entered the western Caribbean. After moving into the Bay of Campeche, a broad low-pressure area formed in association with the system on September 22. An increase in deep convection on September 23 led to the formation of the tropical depression. Around September 24, the depression made landfall. Inland, the depression quickly diminished to a remnant low by night on September 24. It dissipated the next day. The storm caused moderate impacts across Veracruz and caused 3 deaths. Tropical Storm Helene A tropical wave exited the west coast of Africa on September 28. After convection gradually became better organized, a tropical depression developed early on October 1, east-northeast of the Leeward Islands. The depression moved northeastward and initially struggled to intensify due to the presence of dry mid-level air. However, early on October 3, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Helene while curving eastward. On October 3, Helene attained its peak intensity with sustained winds of 45 mph (75 km/h) and a pressure of 1003mbar. However, strong wind shear soon weakened Helene. Later on October 5, Jerry became extratropical at about west of the central Azores. The remnants persisted for a few hours, until dissipating hours later. Hurricane Isaac Main Article: Hurricane Isaac (2018) Tropical Depression Eleven formed in the southeastern Caribbean on the morning of October 13. Early the next day, it strengthened into Tropical Storm Isaac. The storm began moving rapidly to the west, and reached hurricane strength on October 15 while approaching Honduras. The next day it made landfall on Honduras, but it didn't weaken. It strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane once it entered Caribbean Sea. Isaac made landfall as a Category 4 storm just near Pensacola, Florida. It rapidly weakened and it turned northeast and it turned extratropical. It was absorbed then a day later. Isaac caused a total of 125 fatalities. Most of the death toll is reported in Honduras. Total damages are estimated at US$150 billion, including $145 billion in the United States and the others are in Honduras and Mexico. Isaac was most damaging to United States. Isaac drew comparison with Hurricane Harvey of the previous year, but it was slightly costlier and the intensities are not that different. Tropical Storm Joyce A cold front that moved off the southeastern coast of the United States on October 19 developed a weak low over the waters near Georgia. On October 21, the center of circulation became sufficiently organized to be declared Tropical Storm Joyce. Joyce gradually strengthened as it traveled northwest towards North Carolina and Virginia. The storm reached its peak intensity of 50 mph (85 km/h) just before it arrived in near New Jersey, though strong wind shear kept most of the convection and surface winds offshore. Joyce then transitioned into extratropical storm and it was absorbed the day later. The storm dropped moderate rainfall near its immediate landfall location but little precipitation elsewhere. Along the coast, high waves, rip currents, and storm surge were reported. Slight localized flooding was reported. Gusty winds also occurred, though no wind damage was reported. Overall damage was minor, and there were no fatalities. Unnamed Subtropical Storm In early November, an extratropical cyclone formed. The cyclone then completed a clockwise loop in response to the blocking area of high pressure to its north that would have otherwise caused the storm to move towards mainland Europe. Subtropical transition started thereafter despite low surface temperatures, Low wind shear in the area allowed the system to transition into a subtropical storm on December 3. However, the NHC did not initiate advisories, particularly due to predictions of stronger wind shear and decreasing sea surface temperatures preventing additional development. The storm continued to show more signs of becoming tropical, however, it failed to complete the transition. By November 6, stronger wind shear and took its toll on the system, and it turned into extratropical. Tropical Storm Kirk Kirk formed on November 12 in the southwest Caribbean Sea. It formed from a wave, and it peaked at 45 mph. However, shear heavily weakened the storm, and a day later, Kirk became extratropical, and eventually merged with a cold front. Five deaths were directly attributed to this tropical storm in the Lesser Antilles due to mudslides or flash flooding. In addition, one death were indirectly caused by the storm. Rip currents is reported in Bermuda and it caused a death. Light to moderate rainfall was reported in Puerto Rico. Season Effects Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) Rating Main Page: 2018 Atlantic hurricane season (Farm - Future Series)/ACE ACE is the result of a storm's winds multiplied by how long it lasted for, so storms or subtropical storms (Originally not included up until 2012) that at lasted a long time , as well as particularly strong hurricanes , have higher ACE totals. Tropical Depressions are not included in season Storm Names The following list of names will be used for named storms that form in the North Atlantic in 2018. The names not retired from this list will be used again in the 2024 season. This is the same list used in the 2012 season, with the exception of the name Sara, which replaced Sandy. Retirement Due to their impacts, two names were retired: Chris and Isaac. This was due to their severe and it's impact. The names that were chosen to replace them in 2024 were Clark and Iggy. Other Seasons Category:2018 Atlantic hurricane season Category:Future hurricane seasons Category:Farm River's Creations Category:Below Average Category:Destructive seasons Category:Future Seasons